Forensic Evidence Presented in Trial After Remains Found in Ballymena Bins

Overview

• The jury heard that 21-year-old Chloe Mitchell was last seen at a James Street flat on June 3, 2023 and that Brandon Rainey denies murdering her and a related charge of preventing a lawful burial.
• Police testified that on June 11, 2023 officers smelled a putrid stench and recovered human remains from two neighbouring wheelie bins; the remains were later identified as Mitchell's by dental records and a tattoo.
• A senior crime‑scene investigator told the court that DNA matching Mitchell was found on an external electric meter box and the front door handle and that airborne blood spatter was recorded at about 160 cm high inside the flat.
• Officers also recovered knives and a crossbow in the flat but forensic testing showed two seized knives did not contain Mitchell's blood, a point the defence used to question how and when blood and DNA were deposited.
• The trial continues at Belfast Crown Court with Rainey held in HMP Maghaberry while jurors consider CCTV, mapping, photography and detailed forensic testimony that the Crown says links the flat to the disposed remains.